ROCKETEER
ROCKETEER REACTION
Yesterday, I defended the ReAction line in spite of its flaws. It might be easy for you, the reader, to look at the Jayne figure I examined yesterday and ask why I would try to defend a line that produced such a figure. That’s because I knew that today’s figure was up next.
1990’s The Rocketeer is one of my favorite movies. It’s a wonderful example of a super hero movie that predated the super hero boom by just a few years. Its director, Joe Johnson, even went on to direct Captain America: The First Avenger, another of my favorites. Sadly, The Rocketeer is at best a cult favorite, and it has been mostly left out in terms of toys. When Funko announced their list of ReAction Figures, the Rocketeer was the one I wanted the most. Now it’s here, so let’s see how it turned out!
THE FIGURE ITSELF
The Rocketeer was his own release under the ReAction banner. He’s really the only figure I could see Funko offering, so that’s fair. I’d still like a Lothar figure, but I’m weird. The Rocketeer is roughly 3 ¾ inches in height and he has the same 5 points of articulation we’ve seen on the rest of the line. He’s based on the movie version of the character, but this is one of those rare instances where it works just as well as a comic version. The sculpt on the figure is overall very impressive. It’s not perfect. The decision to make the helmet removable goes against the Kenner style, though it’s hard to say if they would have stuck to that in the case of someone like Cliff Secord, who did take his helmet off a lot. The underlying unmasked head seems a bit vertically squashed, but it’s not terrible. I doubt anyone is planning to display him without the helmet. The helmet is a very nice sculpt, even if it is a little bit oversized. The Rocketeer is one of the few ReAction figures not to have any issues with the sculpt being too flat, which is definitely a good thing. The details on the costume are quite nice, and they fit the style very well. The jetpack is another separate piece, and it’s a really great sculpt. There’s lots of nice details, and they even sculpted the little piece of gum on the back! The paint work on Cliff is okay, not amazing. It’s mostly clean, but there are a few areas of bleed over here and there. There’s also a small issue with paint transfer from the hands to the thighs. It scratches back off, but it’s annoying. The Rocketeer includes no extra accessories, but since the helmet and jetpack are packed separately, that’s not really a bad thing.
THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION
When I first heard about the Rocketeer figure, I was instantly on board for getting the figure. The figure’s release actually ended up sneaking up on me a bit. I ended up getting him along with the remainder of the Firefly ReAction Figures from Amazon. Of the figures I received in that shipment, Rocketeer is far and away my favorite. After the bit of a descent in quality seen with the Firefly figures, this figure is a real pick me up for the line. He has his flaws, but I think he really shows the true potential of this line. If Funko can manage to make more figures in the vein of this one, I think the ReAction line can really take off.
The Figure In Question 